Never Underestimate the Power of Great Natural Beauty

"Never underestimate the power of great natural beauty to bring you inspiration, peace of mind, and clarity of thought.
In nature, you find yourself."  Wayne Dyer

Wishing you a Happy Weekend 

Top 2 photos Eric Piasecki, Bottom Left unknown, Bottom Right Kjersti Berg

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, "What's HOT" in the world of Design, as well as sneak peaks of her work. 

Barbara Hill At Found.

One of Houston's best stops for antiques and unusual objects is Found. They are fairly well known in blogland and have a great site on 1st dibs. Being the "eclectic" person that I am, I always find many lust worthy objects there. Next week they will premier new furnishings designed by Barbara Hill.

Barbara's Marfa home has been featured in several publications, including

Dwell and Metropolitan Home.

I really got to go there! The photo below is actually one I have in my tear-sheet stash, but didn't

know who designed it. (I admit I don't always read magazines...I just look at the pretty pictures).

I'm ashamed of myself:( I'm also ashamed because I now realize that Barbara

is a frequent patron of my favorite coffee shop, I see her all the time but didn't know who she was.

In fact, a couple of weeks ago, I stopped her to say how much I love her red hair.

I think she thought I was crazy. Oh well, maybe I can officially meet her next week

and she won't think I'm crazy. (Ha ha).

I can't wait to see her new designs!

Beige is Magic - Albert Hadley

"Beige is atmosphere. It's bisque, it's ivory, it's cream, it's stone, it's toast, it's cappuccino. It's, well, it's magic." Albert Hadley

Enjoy the slide show!!

 

 

 

Patricia Gray writes about 'WHAT'S HOT 'in the world of Interior Design, new and emerging trends, modern design,
architecture, and travel, as well as how your surroundings can influence the world around you.
© Patricia Gray Interior Design Blog, 2009

 

I'm Tired, I'm Stressed...Only Junking Will Help.

Junking is a real term right? If not, I'm sure you all know what I mean.
Its the act of searching through and hunting for junk!! I have yet to figure out why I love it so much, but it does my soul good:)
Many of you may have noticed that I have been slow on posting lately. I have to admit that my work has been taking all my time and energy.
I'm struggling w/ feeling any amount of creativity or inspiration.

I know, "Boo hoo".
Over the weekend we had a few rare child free hours. (Thanks to my lovely sister and brother-in-law)
So I took the time to hit some "antique" stores, to relieve some stress.
Some of my favorite Houston haunts are located along several blocks of Westheimer.
Finding so many hidden gems made me very happy. Here are a few of my favorite finds.

This is such a cool Valentine's themed window display!

Of course I must include chairs.

I feel a little better, now. Aahhh.

Is This Heaven?

It just might be! My version anyway.

This from The Modern Warehouse, found via Hoping for Happy Accidents.

Yellow - Mimosa's Debut?

Yellow tulips speak to me of Spring and the promise of sunshine.
What could be more optimistic than that?

Pantone, the global authority on color and provider of professional color standards for the design industry has selected 'Mimosa', a warm, engaging yellow, as the Color of the Year for 2009. It was selected for the view that the world is in a time of economic and political change and for the fact that yellow more than any other color represents optimism, hope and reassurance.

"The color yellow exemplifies the warmth and nurturing quality of the sun, properties we as humans are naturally drawn to for reassurance," explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. "Mimosa also speaks to enlightenment, as it is a hue that sparks imagination and innovation."

While all the above testaments to the effects of yellow on the psyche are so true, yellow is a color that is a tried and true favourite and has been used abundantly throughout the annals of time. Although I don't subscribe to the fickle market trends of color ......thank-you very much Pantone for your re-packaging and re-marketing of the color Yellow and for giving it it's year of fame!!

Sunset in Morocco taken by my girlfriend Ann on her desert safari expedition 2007.

Yellow lanterns on the Island of Giudecca for the famous Rendentore fireworks celebration 2008

Albert Hadley was using yellow in his designs in the 80's

David Hicks (left) used yellow in the 70's

Conran has introduced a yellow velvet for this sofa (left) just in time to catch the yellow wave.
A yellow ottoman at the showroom of Dennis & Leen in Los Angeles that I was attracted to on a visit in 2008 (right)

Yellow tufted ottomans (left Nate Berkus, right KWID)

Yellow toss cushions and trim on draperies add a lively spark to these rooms. EKB Interiors

Jeffery Bilhuber's famous library using the iconic yellow of the National Geographic magazines

Yellow in large scale abstract artwork

House Beautiful Nov 2007

Yellow wall coverings KWID

Framed wall paper panels by the fabulous Maison 21

Bold & graphic yellow stripes in this bathroom

Yellow for draperies

Fabric and trim from my files for a Master Bedroom I designed in the 90's

Clarence House Silk draperies

Yellow Bedding

Yellow paint for walls. Benjamin Moore's St Elmo's Fire is a great yellow with just a touch of green in it.

Yellow slipcovered dining chairs Vicente Wolf

Yellow lamps were starting to show up in abundance in 2008

Jan Showers lamp (left) Michael Devine fabric (right)

One of my favourite pieces of artwork by Kenton Nelson

View as a slide show below............

What do you think? Is yellow a color you will want to introduce into your home in 2009, or will you be content to let others use it?

Click here to read a post I did on the color Yellow February 2008

Patricia Gray writes about emerging trends, her inspirations, and "What's HOT" in the world of Design, as well as sneak peaks of her work..
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